Gemstone Articles

What we know for certain about topaz is that the topaz is a silicate mineral
of aluminum and fluorine. We also know that is comes in yellow, orange,
yellow-brown, flax, brown, green, blue, light-blue, red, pink, etc…right up to
and including colorless! From that point on, the topaz seems to be a mass of
contradiction.

Even though it carries a ranking of 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness – which
is pretty hard – it can be split with a single blow.

Although a citrine is sometimes mistaken for or passed off as a topaz, the
most famous topaz of all – the colorless 1680 carat stone in the Portuguese
crown jewels – was once thought to be a diamond! In fact it is known as "The
Braganza Diamond".

Even the name 'topaz' is mired in controversy. Conflicting sources cite
Sanskrit and Greek as the root of the word. The trouble doesn't stop there.
Some say that the Sanskrit definition of topaz is 'beautiful gem'; while others
claim that it means 'fire'. The Greek school of thought is divided as well. One
source claims that the word means 'green gemstone'. However, it is certain that
the name 'topaz' does come from 'Topazios', which translates as 'to seek' or
'to guess'. This is the Greek name for the island of St. Johns in the Red Sea.
Legend has it that the island was almost always shrouded in fog, making it
difficult to find. This gives rise to the veracity of one Greek name claim.
But, a monkey wrench gets thrown into the machinery when you realize that it
was not topaz that was mined at topazios, but rather, peridot.